Scooter theft ends in driving ban

A woman who embarked on a 10-mile journey home on a stolen supermarket mobility scooter while more than twice over the legal alcohol limit has been banned from driving.

Amanda Leaff took the vehicle from an Asda store in Chadderton and planned to drive through Manchester city centre to her address in Stretford in a bid to avoid the taxi fare, Oldham Magistrates' Court heard.

With the buggy possessing a maximum speed of 2.4mph, the trip would have taken at least four hours.

Two-and-a-half miles into her journey, an off-duty police officer spotted Ms Leaff, 46, driving erratically along Oldham Road, Hollinwood. She was breathalysed and gave a breath-alcohol reading of 77mg - the legal limit being 35mg.

The court heard she had been drinking in a pub in Chadderton when the heel of her friend's shoe snapped off.

Ms Leaff decided to take the scooter to give her friend a lift to the friend's house nearby. She intended to return the buggy the following day, the court was told

She was banned from driving for 20 months after pleading guilty to driving a mobility scooter while unfit through drink and taking the vehicle without consent.